By Pat Cummings
D3sports.com
While there were no upsets of ranked teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region, there are certainly plenty of stories to share from Saturday's affairs. Christopher Newport traveled to Glassboro and put up a goose egg against No. 8 Rowan. McDaniel challenged No. 14 Bridgewater at Jopson Field in a budding rivalry and the difference again was a fourth-quarter field goal attempt. No surprises either in Farmville as No. 20 Hampden-Sydney disposed of visiting Sewanee, 49-21.
As I mentioned last week, Randolph-Macon's game against Chowan was one of the five games to watch this season for USA South Conference fans. Chowan's novice head coach Steve Gill, the youngest coach in the South Region (a 1995 graduate of Frostburg State) brought his Braves to R-MC a year after the Yellow Jackets escaped from Murfreesboro with a 17-14 overtime nail biter. David Ping popped a 24-yard field goal to win the game for his Yellow Jackets -- the first of 10 consecutive losses for Chowan in the 2002 season. The tables were turned on Saturday.
Macon, ranked third in the ODAC preseason poll, led 20-14 in the fourth quarter when Chowan quarterback Taylor Furlough connected with freshman wideout Xavier Hair for a 58-yard score with just more than two minutes remaining. The win marks the first victory for Chowan since their season-ending win against Averett in 2001, and Gill's first head coaching victory. Chowan returns home for four consecutive games including visits from Greensboro, Ferrum, Newport News, and Salisbury. While the win may be difficult to gauge this early in the season, the win still marks one of the best non-conference wins for a Dixie/USAC team since the inception of the conference.
Firing on all cylinders
The Bullets of Gettysburg get my vote for most prolific defense of the week. Lebanon Valley jumped out to a 7-0 lead over Gettysburg at the Bullets' newly renovated Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium. After allowing the early score, the Battlefielders' defense and special teams put the Flying Dutchmen to rest. Ryan McGarry, Grant Acker, and Matt Pinkney intercepted LVC passes and returned them for scores of 43, 41, and 48 yards, respectively. Combine that with a Nathan Smith 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and the Bullets made quick work of the Flying Dutchmen, scoring 52 unanswered points. Junior halfback Gentris Bryant added three scores, two rushing and one receiving as Gettysburg's win marked the program's 500th, becoming the 14th Division III program to claim that milestone.
Firing on all cylinders
Preseason Centennial Conference favorite Muhlenberg fell to Kings Point in a non-conference match on Long Island. The Mules' all time leading rusher Matt Bernardo was held in check with 66 yards on 21 carries. Having lost Justin Jones to graduation, the Mules christened Ryan Newman and Nick Rosetti behind center. Trailing by eight with time running down, the Mariners defense was too much, forcing Rosetti to underthrow wideout Kyle Douglass, sealing the victory for Kings Point.
The Muhlenberg loss, combined with a McDaniel loss shakes things up in the Centennial Conference. While neither game affects the title race, the squads' next two games will be against Christopher Newport and each other. Muhlenberg has a bye this week and will travel to CNU on Sept. 20, only to return and host McDaniel in their conference opener on Sept. 27. McDaniel hosts the Captains this week. My two top picks in the Centennial find themselves on equal footing after Week 1, it will be interesting to see if that remains the same over the next two weeks as they share the same non-conference opponent. The other five CC teams were victorious this week, as Dickinson outran Juniata, Franklin and Marshall won its opener for new coach Shawn Halloran, Johns Hopkins defeated Rochester, and Ursinus upset Susquehanna under the lights in Selinsgrove.
Maryland's other state school
Several Frostburg State folks contacted me this week in response to my ACFC prognostication from last week and lack of information regarding Frostburg. The initial problem is that I should not have placed 1-2-3-4 predictions on the ACFC's four team conference. Frankly, it doesn't matter in the least who wins the ACFC. Salisbury, Wesley, and Frostburg are vying for one of the coveted Pool B bids and a 2-1 conference record really doesn't factor into the process.
Allow me to opine on the Bobcats for a moment. Last season they lost four regular season games by a total of 18 points (including a three overtime heartbreaker at home against future conference mate and 2002 playoff-quarterfinalist Brockport). Four losses on a schedule are by no means pretty, but if I had to lose four football games, I would take solace in the fact that they were lost only by an average of 4.5 points. The Bobcats return 17 starters from last season's Regents' Cup winner (the annual cross-state rivalry with 2002 Pool B team Salisbury).
Will all of this translate into a Pool B bid run in 2003? Frostburg plays only nine games in 2003, six of those on the road. While the Bobcats host Montclair State, Widener, and Waynesburg, the bulk of their schedule will be spent on the bus. Nine-game seasons can be a blessing or a curse. If Frostburg can stay in each of their games as they did last year, an extra year of wisdom may help the Bobcats contend for a playoff spot.
Offensive Performance of the Week
This weekly accolade goes to Wilkes running back Brett Trichilo. The junior had 31 touches for 301 yards and three touchdowns, besting his personal high of 254 yards from two seasons ago. The Colonels tallied 55 points at Albright in the win.
Obscure Mid-Atlantic Region Media Guide Factoid of the Week
All 12 games on Franklin & Marshall's 1888 schedule were cancelled due to the heated presidential race that year. Republican Benjamin Harrison won the electoral college vote despite getting fewer popular votes than Democrat Grover Cleveland.
According to F&M Sports Information Director Ed Haas, F&M was intensely passionate about its politics in 1888 (and they still are, apparently). F&M came back in 1889 and knocked off Millersville 60-0.
Needless to say, no games were cancelled in 2000 when George Bush received more electoral college votes over Al Gore who took the popular vote. Maybe the Diplomats should have cancelled some; as you may recall -- the Diplomats failed to win a game that year. However, the men from Lancaster won their 2001 debut against Oberlin. That makes F&M 2-0 in season openers following presidential elections in which the electoral college elects the candidate with fewer popular votes.
In the event this scenario should unfold again, make sure you take F&M for the next season's opener.
Mid-Atlantic Region Top 5
Hampden-Sydney gets my vote for top team in the region. The Tigers took off against Sewanee in a 49-21 victory. Making his first collegiate start, sophomore quarterback J.D. Ricca completed 23 of 30 pass attempts (76.6%) and tossed four touchdown scores with only one interception while hitting five different players for multiple receptions. H-SC returns 18 starters from last season and they played like the veterans they are on Saturday. This week, the Tigers host Gettysburg.
Wilkes will take my No. 2 spot this week. Trichilo was incredibly impressive as he ran all over Albright in a 55-28 win. If he can duplicate that performance off of the bye week against main conference for Lycoming ... look out.
Lycoming was idle this week; makes them a perfect No. 3. I'll get to see the Warriors kick off against King's in Williamsport this weekend.
Bridgewater eeked by McDaniel for the second year in a row. Both teams played exceptional defense and they collectively round out my No. 4 and No. 5 in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Games to Watch
Christopher Newport at McDaniel, Westminster, Md., 1 p.m.: CNU experienced the wrath of the brutal schedule -- a 21-0 loss at Rowan. This week, the Green Terror look their first win as they gear up for Centennial Conference play. Either way, one of these two solid teams will end up 0-2.
King's at Lycoming, Williamsport, Pa., 1 p.m.: The Monarchs had a great run in 2002 and have to rebound against one of the top teams in the MAC. Lycoming plays only nine games, each one counts a bit extra as a result.
Susquehanna at Widener, Chester, Pa., 1 p.m.: Widener kicks off the David Wood era against a Crusaders squad which was bewildered by Gary Sheffield (not that one) of Ursinus. SU looks to rebound and catch the Pioneers off guard.
